Gina Salamone

"Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter."
        — Brad Henry

Gina is a person who was encouraged to be independent by her parents, Norm and Laura. She is an only child who matured quickly, because her parents took her everywhere. Gina is very social and loves to spend lots of time with family, friends, her boyfriend Shaun, and her cat Mikey. Her cat is one of her treasured relationships. She describes Mikey as "the best cat ever — super-affectionate and just like a dog."

Gina says that a fun time with friends would typically involve food, conversation, movies, or TV. She loves to spend a lot of time just hanging out with Shaun and their friends. Every Saturday morning they head off to their favorite diner, Tommy O's in DeKalb, Illinois. She says they know everyone there and look forward every week to their Saturday breakfast at the diner.

Travel is something that provides Gina with a lot of enjoyment and gives her another opportunity to practice independence. She got lots of experience learning to cope while spending the summer of 2005 traveling in France and other European countries. That summer had a very positive impact on her life and helped her grow in her ability to thrive even in a country where she doesn't speak the language.

There are few things that bug Gina. The first one is being late. She stated, "I don't like it when I'm late for things or when others are late." She also does not like to drive at night, nor does she like to fly on airplanes. The destination excites her-but the process of getting there is a chore. Also, Gina loves TV, but not TV football-and one of her biggest gripes is Sunday football. As a very social person it bothers her when the whole family shuts down for hours to focus on a football game.

On the positive side, if you really want to know Gina you need to spend some time over a meal with her. She loves to cook and she cooks every night. She does not like to cook from recipes and loves to invent new and hotter chili! One time she and one of her friends decided to have an ongoing chili cook-off every evening. For over thirty days, they made different styles of chili every single day! Fortunately for Shaun and the rest of the family, after eating some of Gina's Special Hot Chili, they can soothe their tongues with a piece of one of her homemade fruit pies. She loves to make homemade pie crust.

As an attorney who is serving seniors and their families, Gina reflects that one of her most important life relationships was with her grandfather, Norm. He loved family holidays and lavished energy and ingenuity in making those holidays into festivals. She hopes to follow in his footsteps when she has her own children and grandchildren. She says, "Grandpa helped make each holiday special for me. I remember one Easter Eve when he helped me set up a video camera to try to catch a glimpse of the Easter bunny when he came to deliver the eggs. Grandpa Norm always created elaborate schemes to convince me that Santa was coming."

Gina is happy to serve as an elder law attorney and gives everyone a warm welcome and a cheery smile.

MEMBERSHIPS:

• Academy of Special Needs Planners
• Kane County Bar Association

EDUCATION:

• Juris Doctor (Law Degree)—Northern Illinois University—magna cum laude
  • Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity—national award for most outstanding student of the fraternity
  • Student member of County, State, and American Bar Associations
  • Study abroad in Agen, France—civil law and the European Union
  • Illinois General Assembly Scholarship
  • Research Assistant—NIU College of Law
  • Summer law clerk at Kinnally Flaherty Krentz & Loran
• Bachelor of Arts in English Literature—Knox College—cum laude